Palladian Blue

HC-144 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

Palladian Blue

HC-144

Hex code

#C1D1C9

Light reflectance value (LRV)

60.4Light, brightens without washing out

0 black100 white

Undertone

Subtle green, a green color

Color family: Blue
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue HC-144 is a pale blue-green from the Historical Colors line, the color most people end up calling a spa blue. Its LRV of 60 is the level where a wall still brightens a room but reads as a color rather than a tinted white. Our method reads it as a subtle green: there is more green in it than blue, which is why it swings toward sage in warm light and toward water in cool light.

Is Palladian Blue warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

leans green

Undertone

Subtle green

graysaturated

A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.

Measured, Palladian Blue tilts clearly toward green with only a little blue behind it, and there is not much pigment in the mix at all. Against bright white trim the green side comes forward and the wall reads like sea glass; against a cream white it softens and goes sage. Warm oak floors pull it further toward sage, while gray tile and chrome push it back toward blue. Its nearest relative in the deck, Woodlawn Blue HC-147, is a shade quieter, and Bali 702 sits a step deeper. The one thing this color never does is read as a saturated blue.

Palladian Blue in north, south, east and west light

North light does the most to this color. The green comes forward, the blue drops back, and a room with weak north light can settle into a flat celadon that looks nothing like the chip. Warm wood, a warm white on the trim and 2700K bulbs hold it together. South light softens it toward sage. An east room gives the widest daily swing of any exposure here, warm sage at breakfast and gray-green by mid afternoon, so judge a sample at the hour you actually use the room. West light adds a faint olive edge late in the day.

Watch for

Goes flat celadon in a weak north room under 4000K bulbs
Reads greener beside orange-toned oak and bluer beside gray tile
On a porch ceiling, light bouncing off a green lawn turns it noticeably sage

Best rooms and surfaces for Palladian Blue

Palladian Blue behaves like a neutral in a living room as long as there is wood or cream in the room to warm it; against gray furniture on a gray floor it tips cold. On kitchen cabinets it comes out a shade greener than it does on the wall, because cabinet faces catch more direct light than a wall does, so a warm counter or brass pulls help. It suits a whole open floor better than a single dark hallway, where the color drains away and only the gray survives. Inside a bookcase or on a laundry room wall it holds up well as an accent.

Palladian Blue on an exterior

Benjamin Moore sells Palladian Blue for exterior use, and outside it lightens a long way: full sun bleaches the green out and siding can read as a pale gray-white from the curb. It keeps its color far better on a shaded porch ceiling, the traditional home for a pale blue-green like this one, and on shutters or a front door, where the surface is small and often in shadow. White trim keeps the edges crisp; a cream trim makes the whole house read sage.

Try Palladian Blue on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Palladian Blue onto the walls so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.

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Palladian Blue vs Woodlawn Blue, Wythe Blue, Sea Salt, Rainwashed and Quiet Moments

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue HC-147, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Palladian Blue vs Woodlawn Blue HC-147

Palladian Blue is a touch darker; both have a subtle green undertone.

Woodlawn Blue HC-147 is the closest thing Benjamin Moore makes to Palladian Blue, and at 61 against 60 they are effectively the same lightness. The difference is quietness: Woodlawn Blue carries slightly less color and sits nearer gray, while Palladian Blue keeps more green and a little more life. Pick Woodlawn Blue if the room already has a lot going on; pick Palladian Blue when you want the wall itself to read as a color.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue HC-143, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Palladian Blue vs Wythe Blue HC-143

Palladian Blue is much lighter; undertone subtle green vs noticeable green.

Wythe Blue HC-143 is the same family a full step deeper, 48 against 60, and Benjamin Moore lists that color under a second number as the next rung down Palladian Blue's own strip. Wythe Blue shows its green plainly and behaves like a mid-tone with weight; Palladian Blue stays pale enough to pass for a tinted white from across a room. Use Wythe Blue where the color should be obvious and Palladian Blue where it should hover.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt SW 6204, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Palladian Blue vs Sea Salt SW 6204

Palladian Blue is a touch darker; both have a subtle green undertone.

Sea Salt SW 6204 is the Sherwin-Williams color people cross-shop with Palladian Blue, and it is the lighter of the two at 63 against 60. Sea Salt leans further into gray-green and can look almost khaki in a dim room, while Palladian Blue keeps a cleaner blue thread running through it. Choose Sea Salt for a spa color that reads soft green; choose Palladian Blue when the water side should show.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Rainwashed SW 6211, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Palladian Blue vs Rainwashed SW 6211

Palladian Blue is a touch lighter; both have a subtle green undertone.

Rainwashed SW 6211 measures a point darker at 59 and shares the same subtle green lean, so a chip will barely separate them. On a wall Rainwashed comes across a touch dustier and Palladian Blue a touch fresher. Either one works in a bathroom, and the deciding factor is usually the tile: Rainwashed settles better with beige stone, Palladian Blue with white marble.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Quiet Moments 1563, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Palladian Blue vs Quiet Moments 1563

Palladian Blue is a touch darker; both have a subtle green undertone.

Quiet Moments 1563 lands at the same lightness, 61 against Palladian Blue at 60, and both measure a subtle green, so the two chips can pass for a match. What separates them is how much color each holds. Quiet Moments is the grayer, quieter one, closer to a tinted white on the wall, while Palladian Blue keeps a clear blue-green that still reads as a color from across the room. Pick Quiet Moments for a whole-house wash; pick Palladian Blue for a bathroom or bedroom that should read blue-green.

Questions about Palladian Blue

Does Palladian Blue look green or blue?

Green, most of the time. The measurement puts more green in it than blue, so it reads like sea glass against a bright white and turns sage next to warm wood. It only looks properly blue in cool light, or beside a green that is stronger than it is.

Is Palladian Blue good in a bathroom?

Yes, and it is one of the rooms people paint it most. At this lightness it keeps a small bathroom open, and the green in it flatters skin better than a cool blue would. Watch the bulbs: anything above 3000K drains the warmth and leaves the walls looking clinical against white tile.

Does Palladian Blue work in a bedroom?

It does, provided the room gets some daylight. In a bedroom it reads calm rather than cold, and it takes white, cream and natural linen bedding without a fight. In a bedroom with one small north window it can go flat, so bring in a warm rug or wood furniture to hold it up.

What is the Sherwin-Williams version of Palladian Blue?

Waterscape SW 6470 is the closest by measurement, near enough that most people could not tell them apart on a wall. Rainwashed SW 6211 is the closest match that has its own page here, slightly darker and dustier. Neither is an exact match, so order samples of both before deciding.

What colors go with Palladian Blue?

Benjamin Moore's own picks are Elmira White HC-84, a warm off-white, with Persimmon 2088-40 and Wood Grain Brown 2109-30 as accents. For trim, White Dove OC-17 keeps things soft and Chantilly Lace OC-65 sharpens the green. Beyond paint it sits well with white oak, brass, rattan and unpolished stone.

What is one shade darker than Palladian Blue?

The next rung down its strip is the color Benjamin Moore also sells as Wythe Blue HC-143, which lands at 48 and is a real step, not a nudge. If you want something closer, Bali 702 at 58 is only a fraction deeper and keeps almost the same character.

Get a sample before you paint

Use the visualizer to narrow your shortlist, then confirm the finalist on your actual wall. A peel-and-stick sample of Palladian Blue, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.